Clayton Vaughn set a school record in the 60 meters (6.61) Friday at the NCAA Championships.

March 9, 2012

NAMPA, Idaho - Sophomore Clayton Vaughn reached Saturday's 60-meter dash finals after obliterating the school record Friday night in the preliminaries of the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Vaughn, who entered the event seeded 17th among the 20 entrants, placed sixth in the preliminaries with a time of 6.61 seconds. The eight finalists, each of whom are guaranteed All-America accolades, will face off tomorrow in the 60-meter finals at 8:15 p.m. (CT).

Vaughn is the first Maverick to reach the finals of an indoor running event since 1998, when Elston Cawley finished third in the 200 meters. The previous school record in the 60 was 6.66 set by Cordero Gray in 2011 and equaled by Vaughn last week in his final attempt to qualify for nationals.

"We couldn't be prouder of Clayton," head coach John Sauerhage said. "Every time he's put in a position where he's challenged, he steps it up. We're looking forward to seeing what he can do tomorrow."

UTA's other NCAA participant, junior Romain Martin, sits in 10th place with 3,185 points after four of the seven heptathlon events. His efforts were highlighted by a personal-best in the 60-meter dash (7.11 seconds). His best finish came in the high jump, as he tied for fifth place by clearing 2.02 meters.

The final three events (60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1000 meters) begin Saturday morning. Martin, who placed third overall in the heptathlon last year, is just 57 points off his day one pace from 2011.

"Romain had a good first day," Sauerhage said. "And we hope his second day will be a very good day. He has some of his best events remaining and he'll do his best tomorrow."

ESPN3 will stream the meet live in prime time on Saturday from 7-10:15 p.m. (CT). NCAA.com and broncosports.com will stream the earlier festivities (11:30 a.m.-7 pm CT).